1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to human reclining devices and, more specifically, to such devices that are lightweight, collapsible and economically made.
2. Description of Related Art
Beach goers, sunbathers and others engaging in recreational or leisure activities that necessitate sitting or resting on the ground or sand, frequently use mats, blankets or towels upon which to sit. Some people may attempt to carry with them, sometimes to remote locations, chairs for added comfort. Chairs used for this purpose are usually foldable in design to aid in such transportation but are nonetheless relatively heavy and bulky to carry.
Conventional folding or collapsible chair-like devices are frequently constructed of metal, wood or plastic materials. They are usually hinged or connected in a fashion to allow for folding into a single plane, usually requiring numerous movable components and connections. Commonly, they will employ some type of webbed or solid seat design, as well as a torso or upper body reclining support. While these devices may be comfortable, they are disadvantageous for many reasons including that they are relatively expensive to manufacture, bulky and difficult to carry for extended distances among other considerations.
Some folding chair-like devices are designed to collapse into a more compact bundle for carrying. Patents illustrating these devices include those issued to A. Le Voir, Belgium Pat. No. 502236 (1950), Otto David Mayer, Italian Pat. No. 615777 (1961), G. Tietze, U.S. Pat. No. 337,715 (1886), and R. W. Lynch, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,857 (1996). While the devices disclosed in these patents fold or collapse into a compact bundle, they are generally disadvantageous in that they have numerous parts that increase the cost of manufacture, may result in a bulky transport package and typically require extra effort in assembly and setup.
There are some folding type backrest devices designed to provide only back or torso support and allow the user to sit directly on or be supported by the ground or sand. Patents illustrative of these types of reclining devices include those issued to J. S. & O. W. Ponten, U.S. Pat. No. 1,842,424 (1928), J. J. Vieira, U.S. Pat. No. 1,363,697 (1920) and C. V. Burgess, U.S. Pat. No. 1,209,808 (1916). The reclining devices disclosed in these patents allow the user to recline while being supported by the ground, but are similarly disadvantageous in that they utilize numerous parts and tend to be unnecessarily costly, bulky and complicated to use.
While prior art chairs and backrest devices have contributed to the art, a need continues to exist for a lightweight, compact and comfortable, foldable backrest that is inexpensive to manufacture and convenient to store, transport, assemble and use.